120 Egypt MB supporters get 3 years in jail over riots

CAIRO, April 16 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court sentenced Wednesday 120 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood group to 3 years in jail over riotous acts last October, state-run Ahram newspaper reported on its website.

As Egypt has been commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1973 war against Israel, rival rallies by supporters and opponents of Muslim Brotherhood mounted, leaving more than 50 people killed.

The defendants faced also charges including unlawful assembly and thuggery.

Following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July, his supporters have been holding continual protests against the army-installed government, which often end in confrontations with either Morsi's opponents or the security forces.

The authorities disbanded Morsi supporters' main sit-ins in Cairo after his removal last August, and in an ensuing crackdown more than 1,000 people were killed.

More than 15,000 Islamists, mostly from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, have also been jailed, while hundreds have been sentenced to death after speedy trials.

The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails has been blacklisted by the authority as a terrorist group last February, and its members were also banned by a court ruling on Tuesday from running in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

CAIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian criminal court ordered Monday to sentence 528 members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death over assaulting police stations in the upper Egyptian province of Minya last August, state-run Nile TV reported. Full story